...we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.
Sylvia PlathRead
I lay in that tub on the seventeenth floor of this hotel for-women-only, high up over the jazz and push of New York, for near unto an hour, and I felt myself growing pure again. I don't believe in baptism or the waters of Jordan or anything like that, but I guess I feel about a hot bath the way those religious people feel about holy water.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a moment of personal rejuvenation and purity found in a simple act of self-care.
In this quote, Sylvia Plath conveys a deep sense of renewal and tranquility she experiences while taking a hot bath in a hotel. Despite her skepticism towards traditional religious symbols like baptism, she likens the cleansing power of the bath to a spiritual experience, emphasizing the profound connection between physical comfort and emotional cleansing.
In practice
During a wellness retreat, someone might share this quote after a relaxing spa day.
...we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.
The hardest thing, I think, is to live richly in the present, without letting it be tainted & spoiled out of fear for the future or regret for a badly-managed past.
It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative--which ever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.
You walked in, laughing, tears welling confused, mingling in your throat. How can you be so many women to so many people, oh you strange girl?
I keep wanting to crawl back into the womb.
It's the living, the eating, the sleeping that everyone needs. Ideas don't matter so much after all. My three best friends are Catholic. I can't see their beliefs, but I can see the things they love to do on earth. When you come right down to it, I do believe in the freedom of the individual.
The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness. This world is not perfect. There are problems. But things like happiness and unhappiness are relative. Realizing this gives you hope.
Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature.
The way to choose happiness is to follow what is right and real and the truth for you.
I have the greatest of all riches: that of not desiring them.
May your heart always be joyful. May your song always be sung.
Seeking happiness in material things is a sure way of being unhappy.
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